The Wolf of Baskerville
by SilverSteamWolf
Summary: Sherlock & John investigate a case at Baskerville only to find more than they bargained for when, causing havoc in the labs is none other than Amaterasu, the Sun god. Weakened and desperate, she pleads for freedom and finds herself on yet another journey.
1. Prologue

There had always been rumours about the secret goings on behind the barbed wire fences and walls of Baskerville. Whispers about genetic experiments, manipulation and the breeding of genetically modified animals were frequently spoken about. Only recent occurrences had roused a little more than suspicion among those living in the hills of Dartmoor; freaky weather patterns, one or two mysterious explosions and an eerie howling that seemed to come from inside the army base. Some thought that the scientists had bred some kind of monster that they couldn't control and it was rampaging, slaughtering those inside and tearing the place apart. But behind the protective walls, the activity in Baskerville wasn't as horrific as some may have thought. The only experiments going on were conducted on nothing more harmful than a rabbit. The interior was immaculately clean; not a single blood cell was in sight where it wasn't meant to be. They only kept everything quiet about what they did to prevent enemies from finding out any information, but with the frequent explosions and howling, it was difficult to keep people from asking questions.

In one of the labs, behind steel bars was housed a white wolf. A scientist discovered this wolf but soon came to see that it was no ordinary arctic wolf that just happened to have wandered too far South across the sea. She managed to capture the wolf and brought it to Baskerville in the hope that they could decipher what kind of species this wolf was. They tried everything they could think of to get at the wolf's biology and chemistry, but of course it wouldn't cooperate. At first, it only behaved aggressively, snapping and snarling at anyone who came near it with a needle and syringe. Then the seemingly supernatural things started to happen; fires caused inside the labs even when all hazards had been checked and doubled checked, flooding of sinks and animals miraculously escaping from their cages. The wolf had escaped its cage many times, only to be caught and put back, as they kept an eye on it constantly. The scientists soon gave up on trying to take blood samples and focused on the wolf's behaviour. It didn't do much other than sit in its cage and watch the people. Nor did it eat or drink; it came as a surprise to many of the scientists that it was still alive the following days. They hoped that by leaving the wolf alone that it might become used to the environment and behave less aggressively towards them, although that technique didn't work either. The moment it was let out of the cage, it took the opportunity to lunge at the closest person's throat. After weeks of having this wolf captive the only thing they knew about it was that it was female, and that all the weird things that started happening only began after it arrived.

A man from Grimpen, a village in Dartmoor situated quite close to Baskerville, took it upon himself to alert someone of the suspicious and curious things going on. But rather that going to the police or the council, he travelled from Devon to London to meet Sherlock Holmes who calls himself a consulting detective. The villager had heard of Sherlock's exploits in solving crimes, and how extraordinarily clever he was, and hoped that he would be just the man to solve this case too.

On meeting Sherlock and his flat mate John, he came across as a rather blunt yet eccentric person but people certainly didn't exaggerate when they said he was quick at figuring things out. John was quite the opposite of Sherlock; he had more social skills than Sherlock did, and seemed to be the more 'normal' one of the two. The villager recited the recently occurring events to Sherlock and John in as much detail as he could. At first, the story seemed to bore Sherlock but once the howling and freak weather patterns were mentioned his eyes swam with increasing interest as he listened intently to what the man had to say. It didn't take long for him to decide that he would take the case and travel to Dartmoor, with his friend and companion John, since the boredom of having nothing to do almost drove him mental. The Grimpen man left Sherlock and John to prepare for their trip to the rolling hills of Dartmoor to investigate the mysteries of Baskerville.


	2. Discovery

**I'm guessing if you're reading this, the prologue interested you. In this story I've taken things from Okami and formed my own idea about them, for example the astral pouch, and also thrown in some of my own ideas as to Amaterasu's powers. This chapter might not seem that interesting but I found it difficult to write; they should get more interesting after one or two chapters, don't worry. I just wanted to get this one out of the way!  
>Reviews and critique are always appreicated and any ideas you have to offer. Enjoy reading this, if you can, despite what boredom it might cause.<strong>

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><p>The lab technician pushed a bowl of chopped up meat through Amaterasu's cage again, like he did yesterday and the day before. Although the meat looked and smelled delicious, she continued to sit like a stubborn mule, not moving an inch. The Sun goddess refused to become their laboratory specimen; she demanded to be released and was willing to wait a hundred years for her request to be fulfilled. The humans assumed that she would have to eat eventually or she will die, but they were oblivious to Amaterasu's ability to survive without eating for weeks and months on end. An Astral pouch full of food acted like a second stomach, preserving food and only digesting it when she required the energy.<p>

The wolf slumped into a curled position and rested her head on her snow white paws. During her captivity, Amaterasu would entertain herself by drawing patterns on the floor and walls of her cell with her tail but even that had its limits. Still, it kept her sane and always proved useful in planning her next attempt to escape although none of her escape plans had worked so far. She was determined to come up with a fool proof plan eventually, but it appeared that times had changed since she last roamed the land of mortals and that most of the things she saw in her current surroundings were completely alien to her. Perhaps if she broke free somehow she could come to terms with this new world.

When drawing began to fail at combating boredom, Amaterasu would cast her mind out into the surroundings, listening to nature and what the spirits of the plants, animals and people had to say. As always, she'd here the laboratory animals praying for her to help them escape. As much as she would love to help and many times she had tried, but there was nothing she could do for them. Instead Amaterasu would comfort them and encouraged them that she would find a way to release them in time. She also felt the minds of the humans, the scientists, and the army people. They obviously didn't know that Amaterasu was here otherwise she wouldn't still be stuck in this damned cell. Although, this particular day, she felt the presence of someone new; he wasn't one of the army people or the scientists, but he did possess the mind of a scientist – a logical mind, with rapid thought processes. Amaterasu hadn't sensed a mind like this in years. She couldn't help but look further into his thoughts and memories, intrigued by the new presence. It seemed he had been alerted of Amaterasu's antics in attempting to escape by a man from the village and he was asked to investigate this place for what was causing the weather patterns and explosions. Perhaps he could help her? With a brain like his, it would take a god to fool him. Amaterasu waited patiently for the man to grace her with his presence, wagging her brush-like tail eagerly.

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><p>Sherlock and John headed to the main building of Baskerville, the first stage of their investigation complete; successfully getting through the gates without getting shot or arrested. A young man approached them in his army uniform, his expression worried.<p>

"What's wrong? Are we in trouble?" asked the young soldier.

"Are we in trouble, _sir?"_ Sherlock corrected him. He had used his elder brother's ID to get access to Baskerville, so it was only in character for him to act with a sense of authority.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

"You were expecting us?"

"Your ID showed up straight away, Mr Holmes. Corporal Lyons, security. Is there something wrong, sir?"

"Well, I hope Corporal, I hope not."

"It's just we don't get inspected here, sir. It just doesn't happen."

John interrupted the conversation, "Ever heard of a spot check?"

Corporal Lyons gave him a questioning look. "Captain John Watson, Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers." John introduced himself, saluting the Corporal as he saluted him.

"Major Barrymore won't be pleased, sir. He'll want to see you both."

John took control of the conversation, making the most of his rank, "I'm afraid we won't have time for that. We'll need the full tour right way."

The young soldier hesitated for a moment.

"That's an order, corporal," John adopted a stern tone. The corporal quickly obeyed and led the supposed government official and the captain to the main building. He and Sherlock swiped their ID cards to gain access. A clicking sound resonated from the door as it unlocked. The corporal pushed the door open, leading the two visitors inside and began the tour. Sherlock checked his watch, counting how many minutes they had left in Baskerville before security figured out something was wrong, which he estimated would take about twenty minutes. The pair was led through the corridors and were shown around many of the labs, which took around ten minutes. Sherlock checked his watch again. A sudden explosion caught his attention.

The corporal cursed and ran to one of his colleagues and conversed, asking what was going on. John also appeared to panic, but Sherlock maintained his composure, sure now that there was something strange about this place. He had felt it outside; a strange wind was blowing at somehow seemed unearthly, but he couldn't quite figure out just what it was. The corporal shorter returned and informed them that they had just been an explosion in Lab 4. Lab 4 was the largest lab which was mainly used to accommodate the laboratory animals. Sherlock decided that that would be a good place to start looking for some answers.

"If it's safe, we'd like to have another look at that lab." It was more of an order than a suggestion. The corporal hesitated again, but didn't question Sherlock's request. It didn't take much longer than two minutes to get there. Once they arrived there were no signs of a fire, which caused Sherlock to wonder what exploded and what made the explosion. He and John had a look around. Most of the animals in the lab were either small monkeys or domestic animals such as dogs and rabbits. They were shaken by the explosion but none were injured. However, there was one animal that caught the detective's eye; a white wolf that lay calmly in its cage. Sherlock thought this to be an unusual specimen to have in a lab, especially one with such a strikingly white coat of fur. As Sherlock approached the cage, the wolf sat upright and blinked its eyes at him, as if greeting him. He knelt in front of the cage, looking the wolf over, observing it. The wolf's eyes followed Sherlock's every movement which piqued his curiosity even more. It didn't even growl or whimper at him as he had expected. John walked over to join Sherlock, but as he approached, the wolf's fur bristled as it leapt back from the bars snarling furiously. This came as a surprise to Sherlock, who thought it was better if John didn't accompany him for the moment. "John, why don't you ask about the explosion," Sherlock suggested.

John recovered from his initial shock, eyeing the wolf cautiously, "Er...yeah, sure." As soon as John left, the wolf relaxed almost instantly. Sherlock called one of the scientists over to ask her a few questions, "Where did this wolf come from?"

"We found it wandering the Highlands of Scotland," she replied.

How could that be? Wolves had been extinct in Great Britain for over a hundred years, and even before then the wolves of Scotland did not have the same coat colouring as this wolf. Sherlock brought this fact to the scientist's attention.

The scientist didn't seem sure as to what to say, "Well...that's where we found her. We thought that a wolf in Scotland was unusual, that's why we brought her in. We thought that she could be the result of hybridisation, but we don't know exactly what she is. We've tried taking blood samples and DNA tests but whenever someone comes within a five foot radius of her with a syringe, she goes berserk."

Sherlock allowed his brain to absorb the information. "And how long has she been here?"

"About a month and a half now."

This was becoming increasingly more interesting; that was when the villager said the weird, supernatural things started happening. Sherlock retreated from the cage for a moment. John relayed the information he had gathered regarding the explosion. Apparently, the gas supply to the lab wasn't switched on, there were no naked flames and the place is so secure that no one could plant a bomb anywhere, but the centre of the explosion was not far from where Sherlock was sat a moment ago.

Sherlock checked his watch – five minutes left. He decided he'd make the most of the time but trying to get more information about the white wolf. It seemed unlikely that she made her way south and across thousands of miles of freezing cold arctic ocean from the north. Sherlock's thoughts were interrupted by a female voice calling his name. He turned, searching for whoever wanted his attention and who had managed to figure out that he was pretending to by his brother, Mycroft Holmes, but everyone else in the lab was busying themselves with their work. John gave him a questioning look, "You okay?"

Sherlock didn't answer but looked again, straining his hearing. The caged white wolf caught his gaze and held it, her eyes staring deep into his own. She barked at him, as if trying to speak.

_Sherlock! _The voice sounded more urgent this time, desperately trying to get his attention.

Sherlock shook himself, feeling a little cold and rolled back his sleeve to look at his watch again. Twenty minutes had passed since he and John sneaked into Baskerville and it was time for them to leave. "Well, I think we've seen enough," he said to the corporal, "It's this way isn't it?" Sherlock didn't wait for the corporal to show them out, but continued walk back to the way they came, ignoring the desperate cries in his ears. He checked his phone when he heard it bleep, telling him he had received a message.

"_What are you doing? – M"_

Sherlock let out a short laugh, "Twenty-three minutes. Mycroft's getting slow."

Surprisingly, the two managed to leave Baskerville without the slightest suspicious glance, not that they were complaining. Although, they were oblivious to the fact that they had a bit of assistance in temporarily disabling the alarm system from a certain white she-wolf in a cage.

It troubled Sherlock slightly, but no more than the peculiar wind or the unnerving voice calling his name that no one else seemed to hear did. He hadn't yet expressed his concerns to John, that was something he didn't do lightly, but instead let it rest in his mind as he tried to make a rational explanation about it.


End file.
